>> casey wian, thank you. >>> in washington, live this hour, a big moment for chuck hagel. the man president obama wants to be his next secretary of defense. the senate armed services committee expected to vote on hagel's nomination and while it is likely he will be confirmed, some republicans are still putting up a fight. >>> meantime -- another big story. the story i should say brewing today in washington. state of the union tonight. and the president will be announcing to the nation that more than half of our troops are coming home from afghanistan. we have been there for 11 plus years. president is set to announce he's bringing home 34,000 united states troops, 34,000 troops, gone, from afghanistan, by this time next year, 2014. that will cut the force by a little more than half. you will have 32,000 united states troops still in afghanistan after that point. >>> okay, so state of the union, 9:00 tonight, and lots of pomp, lots of ceremony. if you watch closely enough, who knows, maybe something memorable. john berman is with me from washington. and, john, you know, whi